Supergoo to the rescue

Several crystals along the market (not for eating) absorb and hold huge quantities of water. In one case open to water supply, these crystals (as shown here) good turn into a thick goo that bequeath stick to surfaces.

Argonne National Laboratory

Inner a disposable diaper are tiny crystals of a material called sodium polyacrylate that can absorb hundreds of multiplication their weight in water. Just a lilliputian amount of the stuff — sometimes called "A-one Slurper" — can draw a lot of liquid, no topic where information technology comes from. When the crystals absorb water, they form a thick and sticky goo (which is why a used diaper gets so heavy).

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Now, scientists at the Meuse River National Laboratory in Illinois have set up a new use for this goo: cleansing up later on a terrorist attack.

A dirty bomb is a weapon that uses explosives to create a defile of hot materials. Radioactive materials send off energy in the soma of radiation, including a form that's wont to lay down X-rays of your dentition. But overmuch actinotherapy rear end get to you sick, and even buy the farm. So, if a marked-up bomb were always to go off (which hasn't happened in the U.S.), particles of radioactive substantial would be released into the air. Terrorists have talked well-nig making such an explosion to cause confusion and affright.

Nonpareil of the supergoo mixes has been sprayed onto a wall. The goo remains moist to the touch for hours, until cleanup crews are waiting to vacuum it disconnected – on with any radioactive dust its sucked in – for rubber disposal.

Argonne National Laboratory

Merely blown by the wind, the dangerous particles released away such a explosion can stick to edifice materials wish marble or brick. This is where the supergoo comes in. If a dirty bomb were to hug dru off, scientists could spray the sticky gel onto buildings. Later, when teams square away the gel, the radioactive particles would peel off with information technology.

In the science laborator, Argonne engineer Michael Kaminski and his team up have shown that one treatment with the thick gel can take off 80 percent of hot leftovers along marble. Afterward cardinal treatments, 90 percent of the leftovers were abstracted. Many of our national monuments are made of marble, so Kaminski's supergoo would aid killing efforts without damaging the monuments themselves.

The goo isn't only successful; IT's besides nontoxic. "In fact," he says, "you could literally eat some of the formulations that we've successful." But the goo doesn't work everyplace. It works so fit on marble part because the polished marble used connected almost monuments is passing smooth — there aren't many holes to shelter radioactive dust. Brick, then again, is rough, so the colloidal gel doesn't process as healed. "Removal rates are poor," Kaminski says.

Kaminski started working happening the super-cleaning supergoo after the Department of Homeland Security asked scientists to come risen with ways to clean dormy radioactive materials. It's scarey to think some a dirty bomb calorimeter going off, but it's more disturbing to think about a dusty bomb leaving off and not knowing how to reply.

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